


How Does His Kingdom Stand?

by cappedbicuspid



Category: Hataraku Maou-Sama! | The Devil Is a Part-Timer!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-05-16 13:43:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19319365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cappedbicuspid/pseuds/cappedbicuspid
Summary: Nothing's been this confusing since he was young. To everyone else, it probably wasn't confusing. That didn't mean that Urushihara understood, though. It wasn't like anyone ever bothered explaining his situation do him.





	1. The Devil Catches Some Shut-Eye

The moon was high. The time had finally come. At long last, he'd been waiting for this all day. 

Urushihara shut down his PC and laid back across the tatami mat floor with a yawn. It was time for bed. He'd stopped sleeping next to Maou and Ashiya some time ago, but instead elected to curl up on his own. Most times, he'd get up and get something to cover up with, but tonight, he just wasn't feeling it. Nah, he had things he wanted to think about. 

He looked over at Maou and Ashiya. Sadao Maou and Shirou Ashiya, the Devil King Satan and his Great Demon General Alciel. The only thing separating the Devil King and two Generals from the Scythe of Death was a thin wall, and nobody minded. Nobody minded Crestia Bell. Nobody minded that the Hero, Emilia Justina knew where they lived. In fact, Suzuno Kamazuki and Emi Yusa were regular dinner guests often enough that Urushihara had long since lost his place at the table. 

Another yawn and he closed his eyes. Someone over there shifted around. It was probably Maou, the guy moved as much in his sleep as he did when he was awake. It was amusing. 

His thoughts drifted back to the table. 

He didn't have a place. One could say, he was the discarded General. The Fallen Demon General Lucifer, Camio called him. It sounded more right the more he thought about it, didn't it? 

He pushed himself upright to turn his PC back on. Thinking like this, he wouldn't get a second of sleep. 

Sometimes, he wondered. Were these people his friends? Was he just tolerated? Was he a necessity to a plan he didn't know about? Never in his millions of years had he been so concerningly vexed by his position in things. See, he'd always known what he was doing. He was an angel in the demon realm or he was a Great Demon General or he was just an archangel. Either people didn't trust him, hesitated to trust him, or entrusted him with society. He knew he wasn't trusted here, but he wasn't sure why. 

Either he'd been around to entertain himself, cause destruction, or maintain the peace. Here, he had no purpose. The lazy, listless peace that Heaven so desired was best acquired by, apparently, betraying the Devil King. 

Which he still felt kind of bad about. 

The shifting continued when the computer whirred to life. It wasn't too loud, but Urushihara had gotten fond of the sound. Really, it was the best company he had around here. Ashiya didn't talk to him except to bitch at him. Maou spoke up when he needed something. Emi and Suzuno both bitched at him, Sasaki largely just disregarded him in his corner. He figured, they weren't much in the way of friends, no. 

The shifting morphed into footsteps. Someone was awake, huh? 

He turned around to look. It was Maou, staring blearily at him. There was an uncomfortable moment of eye contact, before Urushihara turned back to his computer. The footsteps approached. He sighed. 

Great. Now he had to entertain the Devil King.


	2. The Devil King Spaces Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And Urushihara thinks about it.

Maou sat down next to him. Urushihara didn't actually acknowledge him, because he'd learned that ignoring people gave them ample reason to leave long ago. It worked on Ashiya, on Suzuno, but apparently it didn't work on Maou. 

 _Yet another thing the Devil King shares with the Hero_ , came the thought. 

The silence wore on and grew tense, somehow. Urushihara browsed forums, Maou watched in vague interest. He didn't get these things. Not that he'd ever really tried, nobody really tried much when Urushihara was involved. He'd learned that one when he found out that the party sent for his body just didn't try. He'd been there, for sure, and they didn't even look. 

A sigh. He looked at Maou. 

He didn't like to over-analyze people. Their facial expressions, the looks in their eyes, it was easy to look too deep. Much to his own dismay, he realized that it was exactly what he was doing to Maou and despite his frustrations, he didn't stop. 

Maou looked sleepy. He looked kind of lost, really, like he'd spaced out. There was a little smile, mild amusement in regards to some phrase his eyes and consciousness probably snagged from the screen. Chances were, it was something Urushihara had smiled a little bit about too. Not that it mattered. No one paid any mind to what happened in his little bubble. 

He watched the moment where Maou came back to reality. He jolted, blinked, yawned, and looked at Urushihara, who raised his eyebrows. "Are you okay, dude?" 

"Yeah," the Devil King muttered. "Are you okay? Isn't it cold over here, and way too late to be reading about..." He paused to look at the screen and gestured to it. "About castles and whatever else?"

"It's about a game," he corrected. 

"It's still late."


	3. The Devil King Slips Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not that it's hard to do, with roommates so volatile.

"It's still late," may very well have been the most frustrating three words ever uttered to Urushihara, in all his thousands of years of living. Not that it was hard to frustrate Urushihara, but something clicked just wrong with that one. 

"So go to bed, dude. I don't have a bedtime."

It's the nicest _eff off_ that Urushihara could offer. It still came out snappy, like an indignant child proclaiming that he could stay up late, but he couldn't say that it didn't accomplish his goal. Maou looked shocked. And he said something. 

Of course, Maou had to say something. Anything. He needed the last word. Always. Because no matter what the issue was, the Devil King needed to be the final authority on it. 

Not that Urushihara caught what he mumbled. 

Maou moved away and laid back down with no further comment, save whatever inaudible statement he'd made, and Urushihara was left alone yet again, to brood in silence. 

Just like the dinner table 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was short, but it was something. I'll try to get a more fulfilling chapter up soon.


End file.
